With a roster complete with seven players 23 or younger, one can only assume that the Sixers’ best days are ahead of them. Following Sunday’s loss in Boston to put the team into a tie with the Knicks for the last playoff spot in the East, the compressed 2011-12 season can only serve as a learning experience for these young fellas.

“It’s a tough, cruel and gruesome season,” said one of those young players, Evan Turner.

It didn’t start out that way, though. Through the first half of the year, the Sixers were the toast of the NBA on the strength of a 20-9 record and a style of play that defied the conventional wisdom. The Sixers shared the ball, had seven different players lead the team in scoring on a nightly basis and played shutdown defense.